Tag Archives: Stewardship

Recently I had an executive from a small nonprofit in Kansas ask me how to improve organizational sustainability in the New Year. There have been a lot of predictions regarding how the new tax legislation will impact nonprofit organizations. Some predict that it will be even more difficult to effectively raise money in the new financial …Read More →

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If you have been raising money for any length of time, surely by now you will have been told ‘no.’ Sometimes a ‘no’ can be a major setback, especially if there is no Plan B in place. Was it something I said? Was it something I didn’t say? What will happen to the project? How …Read More →

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Have you ever had a donor get mad at you and/or your organization? I have and I can tell you that it is not fun. I do not like conflict or “drama” and so I don’t like having to deal with these situations. I have learned throughout the years, however, that it is always better …Read More →

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Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) are growing in popularity here in the United States and they are a great way to accomplish philanthropic goals. Many people are using DAFs for a few key reasons. One reason is that they are relatively simple to set up. Working with a community foundation, such as The Community Foundation Serving Greeley …Read More →

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Unless you have been under a rock for the past several weeks you have undoubtedly heard about the Ice Bucket Challenge. According to Forbes, the ALS Association raised $100M from the successful online campaign. This is great for the ALS Association, but those of us who work for small organizations have few options to raise …Read More →

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I was meeting with a colleague last week when the topic of that Comcast Retention Agent viral phone call came up. Surely you have heard it by now, if not you can go here: https://t.co/5TRpDmWQBU. After you listen to it you will assume that it was a hoax but I guarantee you it was real. …Read More →

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Recently I had occasion to make a telephone call to a donor whom I do not know personally. For the sake of context, I was in the process of contacting lapsed donors to give them an opportunity to make a renewal gift. This particular donor had a history of giving for several years, but had …Read More →

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There has been a big ruckus in the news over the past few days because of the alleged words of a certain owner of a California-based NBA team (it rhymes with “Flippers”). The comments made were very racially insensitive and denigrating. It is unfortunate that such views are still around in 2014. Rather than rehash …Read More →

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I was having dinner with a donor recently when he lamented to me his frustration at only being contacted by organizations when they want to ask for money. Fortunately I was not there to make an ask at that time, but his feelings resonated with me. The relationship between donor and nonprofit organization is just …Read More →

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Sometimes there are differing perspectives about issues that are seemingly “cut and dry.” For example, I once had someone impart to me a very unique viewpoint relating to gang violence. We were discussing the fact that kids in gangs often get into these gun battles and there are stray bullets that go flying in residential …Read More →